


S.O.S.

by sunsetsoverwater



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-06 01:42:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15183956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunsetsoverwater/pseuds/sunsetsoverwater
Summary: The Time Team travels back to the summer of 1977 in New York City, which puts them right in the crosshairs of one of America’s most notorious killers.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters or this world. I just like to be a part of it sometimes.
> 
> Summary: The Time Team travels back to the summer of 1977 in New York City, which puts them right in the crosshairs of one of America’s most notorious killers. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: This is my first foray into the Timeless fanficdom, so hopefully I was able to properly capture the voices of these amazing characters. Also, NBC, I hate you, and have deleted all of your programming off my DVR. Just FYI on that. This has not been beta’d, so all mistakes found are my own. 
> 
> I’m taking a couple of liberties with this one. 1. This takes place between 2.03 and 2.04, which means that Wyatt never got the text message from Jessica upon returning from 1941. 2. I’m fully writing this as if the Time Team changed history while on this particular mission, so our timeline reflects the major event written, but theirs didn’t.

**S.O.S. – Chapter One**

Every morning in that damn bunker, she was awoken by a full body shiver. The temperature never seemed to be able to stay consistent, and mornings always felt particularly cold and damp. As a result, no matter how many blankets she had on her during the night, she would invariably have not enough by morning, and the cold underground room would eventually be too much for her thin body, making her shiver until she could grope around for another blanket to huddle under.

This morning however, was different. Sure, she still woke up because of a fully body shiver, but this time, she didn’t have to flail around for an extra blanket. No, this time, she was pulled into the warm body of none other than Wyatt Logan, and had further warmth spread through her as his hand snuck under her shirt, and his fingers splayed across her stomach. Sure, the sheets weren’t as luxurious, and the sad excuse for a mattress definitely didn’t live up to the quality of Hedy Lamarr’s guest house, but this was the third morning in a row she was able to wake up in Wyatt’s arms, and dammit, if this was the way she would be warmed up from a shiver in the mornings, she wouldn’t mind staying in this damn bunker for the rest of her life.

After snuggling back closer to his broad chest, Lucy sighed in contentment, but was definitely awake. The conversation she had with Jiya the night before still weighed heavily on her mind. All evening after returning from 1941, she and Wyatt had naturally stuck close to one another. She hovered around him as he made dinner in the kitchen, and when they all gathered to watch a movie later that evening, she had curled up beside him on the couch, laying her head on his shoulder, and he had draped an arm around hers, pulling her even closer.

But the whole time, Lucy had sensed that Jiya was watching them closely, and not in the “excited for her friends” kind of way, but more in the “what are they doing” kind of way. She was starting to feel really self-conscious and was tempted to get up to talk to Jiya, but right at that moment, Jiya had nudged Rufus’ arm, whispered something in his ear, and after they had both stolen quick glances at Lucy and Wyatt on the couch, the two got up and disappeared towards the back of the bunker, presumably into one of their rooms.

When they returned almost an hour later, the way Jiya had looked at her had changed, and Lucy knew something was up, so took the opportunity to grill her when they had a few moments alone as they were getting ready for bed. That was when Jiya dropped the bomb that had Lucy’s heart constricting. In this timeline, Wyatt’s deceased wife Jessica was very much alive, and technically they were still married. They had been estranged for years, but no divorce papers had ever been signed. Jiya then rushed on to say that Rufus had explained everything to her about the Time Team’s timeline, and what had happened in Hollywood, and that she wasn’t judging at all because of that. It had just seemed odd to her to see Wyatt hanging all over Lucy when to her, when they had left, he had still been communicating with Jessica.

Lucy knew she should tell Wyatt this new information, but she also knew with absolute certainty that the moment she did, Wyatt would run off to Jessica. And as good of a person as Lucy felt she was, she selfishly wanted to just hold off on that certainty for at least a little bit longer. So as such, when he crept into her and Jiya’s room later that night, and slipped behind her on the cot, she didn’t say a word, and even now, as she laid awake, watching the sunlight slant through the room, signaling the day was about to start, she knew she didn’t want to say anything. She just wanted to hold onto this bliss just a few seconds longer.

However, all fears that were swirling about Jessica and Wyatt were quickly displaced with new fears when the alarm bell signaling that the Mothership had jumped rang through the bunker. Both Wyatt and Jiya groaned in unison about being woken up by the blaring sound, and Lucy couldn’t help but smirk when Jiya rolled onto her back and flopped an arm over her eyes.

“That is definitely worse than a clock alarm.”

After getting squeezed into Wyatt once more, Lucy crawled out from under the sheets towards Jiya’s bed, and stood over her as she rubbed her eyes. “At least once we leave, you can eat and then take a nap. God knows when I’ll get either of those.”

Jiya rolled her head towards Lucy’s voice, and shifted her arm away from her eyes, cracking only one eye open to look at Lucy. Her gaze shifted to Wyatt who was also rolling out of Lucy’s bed before shifting back to Lucy. “You’re right. Still sucks though.” With one more groan, Jiya forced herself to sit upright, letting out a huge yawn. “When you guys see Emma this time, can you at least ask her to only jump after 8am? I feel that’s a reasonable ask.”

Lucy snorted, and glanced at Wyatt as he snuck around her to get to the door, his fingers trailing from her hip and across her lower back, eliciting a wide grin from Lucy. Every time he touched her, butterflies exploded in her stomach in the most intoxicating feeling. But with Wyatt heading out the door, Lucy returned her gaze to Jiya, and held a hand out to her friend. “Come on. Let’s see where Emma is off to this time.”

Jiya took Lucy’s hand to haul herself out of bed, and reached for one of Rufus’ hoodies that were slung at the base of her bed, shoving it over her head to ward off the cold. As she followed Lucy out of the room, she tilted her head back towards Lucy’s bed. “So, you two are officially happening, huh?”

Lucy could feel her face flame, and dipped her eyes to the floor to avoid eye contact. “Well, for now.”

“You didn’t tell him, did you.”

At that, Lucy couldn’t help but look up at Jiya. “No. Not yet. Does that make me a horrible person?”

Jiya shook her head. “Of course not. But you know, he’s going to find out sooner or later.”

Sighing, Lucy nodded. “I know.”

The two remained silent until they reached the briefing area, where the rest of the team was already gathered, and already bustling with activity. Jiya moved towards her usual seat, checking on the information scrolling across her screen, while Lucy fit herself right behind Wyatt, ever so slightly brushing his body with hers, making him turn to her with a quick smirk.

“Alright, so where did the Mothership jump to this time?” Mason’s question was directed to Jiya, who was frantically typing something into her computer.

“Uh, looks to be July 12, 1977, New York City.”

Lucy quickly started running through the major historical events of that time in her mind, her eyes darting back and forth as if she was reading notes that weren’t there as she went. “The closest major event I can think of was the apprehension of David Berkowitz, but that wasn’t until August, so I’m not sure why Emma would go back in July.”

Wyatt furrowed his brow. “David Berkowitz?”

Flynn leaned back against a railing and crossed his arms. “You’ve never heard of Son of Sam?”

“Oooo, that was a great movie.” Jiya looked up from her station, but then quickly ducked her head down again when everyone looked at her, mumbling something that sounded like, “well, it was.”

“Wait a minute. You’re telling me that we have to deal with another of America’s worst serial killers? What’s with you people?” Rufus directed his question to Flynn, who merely held his hands up in defense.

“Hey, I never would have taken you to Son of Sam.” He shrugged his shoulders then as he shoved his hands in his front pockets, and spoke again. “Mostly because I couldn’t since I was a small boy then, but none the less.”

At his words, Lucy began quickly doing the math on everyone’s ages and realized that the rest of them were within the safe zone of travelling. Too bad where they were going would be anything but safe.

As if he could sense her thoughts, Wyatt looked down at Lucy and merely nodded before turning back to the rest of them. “Well, alright then. So we go to New York City, find Emma, and avoid anyone named David apparently. Easy enough. But, why would Emma go there?”

Lucy could only shrug. “I have no idea. New York City was in the midst of a major financial crisis during that time, and most of the city was in fear of the Son of Sam. But, nothing earthshattering happened that I can think of that she would want to go back to change. Maybe one of his victims was Rittenhouse and she wants to stop it?”

Wyatt started moving towards the Lifeboat. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to figure it out when we get there.” He turned to Rufus. “You ready?”

“To become an unwitting part in a Spike Lee joint? No.” At Wyatt’s glare, Rufus sighed. “At least let me go put on some normal clothes before we leave.” With that, Rufus shuffled out of the briefing area and back towards his room, with Jiya closely in tow.

Lucy looked down at her own clothes and realized she too would like to put on some normal clothes. She was kind of partial to these pajamas, and since they never were able to retrieve the clothes they left the bunker with after stealing era-appropriate ones, she wanted to put on something she wouldn’t mind never getting back. “Me too. Be right back.”

In less than five minutes, the team was strapping themselves into the Lifeboat, and Lucy clenched her teeth in preparation for the waves of nausea that were about to hit. Travelling on an empty stomach usually did her in, and since she hadn’t eaten since last night, she wasn’t looking forward to this jump at all. The only thing that had her opening her eyes was the feel of Wyatt’s fingers dancing across her chest as he strapped her in. When she looked up at him, she could instantly feel herself drowning in those blue eyes of his, and when his dipped down to drop a soft kiss on her lips, a soft sigh escaped her.

“Ok you two. No making out in the Lifeboat. There’s a rule.”

Lucy tilted her head back and let loose a laugh as Wyatt told Rufus to just shut up and drive. Her fear was very quickly forgotten, and as they jumped, there were only slight ripples of nausea.

Even so, as the rings outside began to slow their spin upon their arrival to 1977, Lucy unbuckled herself and took a moment to try to swallow down anything that was threatening to come up, but she was completely unprepared for what happened next. The door to the Lifeboat opened, and the wave of heat and humidity that flooded the small space had her gagging. She had read about the oppressive heat of that summer, but reading about it and experiencing it were two completely different things. Suddenly she wished she had grabbed her only pair of shorts, because god knows she’d be stealing another pair anyways.

“Oh my god.”

Lucy looked toward Rufus and could already see his forehead beading with sweat. Completely understanding his discomfort, she very quickly realized she no longer had any desire to eat. Instead, all she wanted was to peel out of these clothes and get on something as loose as humanly possible, because everything was already sweating. “This summer was definitely a hot one for New York.” Lucy climbed out of her seat and following Wyatt, made her way to the door, hoping for some kind of relief outside of the giant metal ball, but none was there. The air was so thick that it was difficult to breathe, and she swore her eyes were going blurry. At least, that’s what she blamed slipping down and out the Lifeboat on. Her poor elbow took the biggest hit, and she knew she would have a bruise for weeks.

After brushing herself off, and making sure she wasn’t bleeding, Lucy followed the guys on their way into the city, fully intent on swiping the first sundress she found, all the while trying to figure out just why Emma would choose to come here and now.

If only she could have foreseen what the next 48 hours would bring.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters or this world. I just like to be a part of it sometimes.
> 
> Author’s Notes: Thank you all so much for welcoming me into the Timeless fandom, and for all the wonderful reviews of the first chapter! I really appreciate the time all of you have invested into this already. 
> 
> This has not been beta’d, so all mistakes found are my own.

**S.O.S. – Chapter Two**

“I can’t believe we’re stalking a serial killer. In every horror movie ever, people who did that quickly became the killer’s targets. If people were watching us right now, they’d be yelling at the screen, probably throwing popcorn, telling us that we’re idiots.”

Lucy didn’t even spare Rufus a glance as she stared down the street at the building in which David Berkowitz called home. Instead, she just kept fanning herself with a postcard she had stolen from the hotel they had stayed at the night before, praying that at some point, the moving air would feel like something other than a blast furnace. Today was hotter than yesterday, and according to the news reports, it was only going to get hotter. As she had been watching the news, and trying to tune out the groans from the boys about the heat, she vaguely recalled that it was around this time that New York City had one of the most record heatwaves ever. She knew it was this summer, and apparently they had landed right at the beginning of it.

At least she had decent clothes now though.

After exiting the Lifeboat the day before, and making their trek into the city, they had stopped to switch clothes, and gather a few extras as well, because they all knew they would be sweating through anything and everything they had. As such, Lucy now had a small bag of supplies sitting in their hotel room, which could tide her over for a few days should they be trapped there that long. Today however, like yesterday, she opted for a short, loose sundress. She was sweating so much though, that it kept sticking to her, and she’d given up trying to peel it away from her skin. Her hair was clipped up as best as she could get it, but the humidity was causing unruly waves and curls that kept escaping the clip, and tumbling down here and there.

Overall, she was miserable.

It didn’t help that not only could they still not figure out what Emma was doing here now, but they didn’t even know where to look, or how long it would take to find her. It’d barely been 24 hours since they landed, and Lucy was already ready to give up, but knew that she needed to at least put a semi-valiant effort into doing something. So after calling it a night hours after they had arrived the previous day, the group started the day anew and decided to trek up to Yonkers, where the notorious killer lived. Since he was their only semi-lead, it made sense to stake out his building, and maybe they would get lucky and run into Emma there.

However, as the sun climbed higher in the sky, doubts of doing anything productive on this mission were rising in all three of them. Wyatt had taken to walking around the block every half hour, while Rufus was throwing a ball around with some kids. Lucy meanwhile, found herself watching a small group of boys dance around a fire hydrant that was spraying water, and she wondered how ridiculous it would be to just run over and join them. She certainly wouldn’t mind getting drenched right about now. However, looking down at the very white dress that was adorned with various colorful flowers, she knew she shouldn’t. Regardless of how tempting it was.

But since she needed to at least pretend she was an adult, she let out another sigh, and offered to go on a run to the convenience store down the street for some more sodas and ice cream. At least she could get a brief reprieve from the heat when she opened the tiny fridge. Wyatt offered to go with her, and when they were out of sight of Rufus, Lucy could feel Wyatt’s fingers entangle with hers. This was the first time she had been alone with him since they had left the bunker, and she found herself constantly taking a deep breath to just spill out the information she was keeping from him. But each time the words threatened to tumble out, she told herself that it would only distract him right now. And the last thing they needed was for any of them to be distracted.

“Lucy. You ok?”

“Hmmm?” Wyatt’s voice pulled Lucy from her thoughts as if he knew what she was thinking. Typical. She turned to look at him and forced a smile to her face while shaking her head. “Nope! Just hot.” Wyatt narrowed his eyes as if he didn’t believe her, but chose not to press the issue. “Ok.” As he moved past her, making his way through the small room to pick out some things to munch on, Lucy blew out a breath. This conversation was going to suck when they finally had it. But for now, she reached into the freezer to pull out a popsicle for herself and sidled up to Wyatt’s side as he paid, leaning into him, and loving the feel of his arm wrapping around her shoulders, pulling her close as he dropped a kiss to the top of her head. Yeah, the conversation was definitely going to suck.

As they made their way back to where they’d been sitting all day, Wyatt once again weaved his fingers through Lucy’s, and she couldn’t help but think how nice this was. How normal. They were just two people at the beginning of a relationship, walking through the streets of New York City on a (very) warm summer day. Too bad their lives were anything but normal.

Once back with Rufus, Wyatt tossed him the Bomb Pop he had picked out for him.

“A Bomb Pop? No Klondike bar?” Rufus seemed less than thrilled with the non-ice cream treat.

Lucy peeled the wrapper off her raspberry Buried Treasure, and frowned as she could already see it melting. “Klondike bars weren’t introduced until the 1980s.”

Wyatt was already half done with his own Bomb Pop. “What’s wrong with Bomb Pops? I used to get these as a kid all the time off ice cream trucks.”

“Really? I was more of the Ghostbusters kind.”

Wyatt snorted. “Of course you were.”

“Come on! The one with the gumball eyes? How could you not love that?”

As the boys bickered, Lucy worked through her popsicle as fast as she could so the sticky mess didn’t run down her hand, and for a brief, brief moment, she felt a slight chill run through her body.

And then it was gone.

“Hey, cool! You got a plastic sword? How come mine didn’t come with one?”

Lucy looked down at the little sword she now held that had once been the stick of her Buried Treasure and handed it to Rufus. “All Buried Treasures come with them. That was one of the main appeals of them during this time. They’re probably pretty collectible by now for us.”

“Gimmie!” Rufus took the sword from Lucy, and started inspecting it. “I wonder what I could get on eBay for this thing.”

Lucy rolled her eyes, but couldn’t get upset at Rufus for profiting off their trips. Besides, she was way too hot to care at this point.

She was getting ready to just tell the boys they should pack it in for another day, or at least take a late afternoon siesta when all of a sudden, they got lucky – which is what always seemed to happen on missions. A flicker of movement near the building they were watching had Wyatt on high alert, and Lucy watched as a small group of people emerged from the building and stopped to talk for a bit. She could feel her adrenaline start to pump, and she knew in her heart of hearts, this was going to be their break.

Her eyes quickly scanned the small group, and they naturally jumped back to one of the men in particular. He was staring right at their makeshift stake out area, or more aptly, he was staring right at her. Like she was prey. And in that moment, everything suddenly became crystal clear to her. She knew exactly what Emma was doing here, and she knew exactly why Emma had brought the team here to chase her. There was no history she was here to change for her cause, there was no Rittenhouse member she was here to save. No, she was here to lead the team into a trap. More specifically, she was here to lead Lucy into a trap.

The story of Son of Sam had always stuck with Lucy, not because of the brutality of it, or because of the human fascination of it, resulting in numerous pop culture references, like the movie Jiya had referenced when they first discovered where they were going. No, the thing that stood out to her – the thing that caused her overactive brain to create one too many nightmares, was that David Berkowitz had a particular type of female he sought after. A type of female who Lucy could relate much too closely to. The targets of David Berkowitz were young, white females, with long, dark, wavy hair. And more than that, they were always killed with their companion – in other words, Wyatt. Lucy’s heart started slamming against her chest, and deep within her, she knew she was in danger, for the man staring at her, who was now heading back into the building, had been none other than the Son of Sam himself – David Berkowitz, and his sights were now set on her as his new target.

But before she could warn the others, Wyatt was pulling her up from her seat on the stoop, and pointing down the street. “There’s Emma! You and Rufus follow her, and I’ll follow those two.”

Lucy glanced over her shoulder, and saw the glint of red hair that she knew could only belong to Emma before turning back to see two men heading in the opposite direction. Her gut was screaming at her not to leave Wyatt’s side – that splitting up the group was not smart – but he was already on the move. “Wyatt! Wait! How are we going to find you?”

Wyatt didn’t even stop, only shouting over his shoulder, “We’ll meet back at the hotel!” And then he was off, and Lucy was left feeling uncertain and uneasy. She hated not being in control of the situation, and this was a situation she was definitely not in control of. She looked once again at where the group had been standing, and David Berkowitz was no longer there, but she knew without a doubt that this wouldn’t be the last time she would see him, and that absolutely terrified her.

However, she couldn’t spend too much time debating whether she should just abandon Emma and go with Wyatt, because Rufus was pulling on her arm, urging her to follow. So, with one last look at Wyatt before he ducked around a corner, Lucy turned to run after Rufus, and for the time being at least, away from David Berkowitz.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters or this world. I just like to be a part of it sometimes.
> 
> Author’s Notes: I am so, so sorry this took so long to get up. Comic Con happened, and I was there with fellow Clockblockers cheering on the heliclockter, and then work got busy, and then here we are. So, if you’ve managed to make it back here after so long, thank you!! I appreciate you more than you know. 
> 
> This has not been beta’d, so all mistakes found are my own.

 

**S.O.S. – Chapter Three**

“So, at what point do we just admit that we lost her?”

Lucy looked over at Rufus, and noticed his eyes tracking to something behind her. She turned around and saw the sign advertising Crown Heights’ best ice cream, and sighed in defeat. “Now.”

Rufus nodded. “Good.” He started moving across the street, not even waiting to see if Lucy would be joining, because, why wouldn’t she?

Wiping the back of her hand across her brow, Lucy quickly checked both ways before trotting across the street to join Rufus. She wanted to be more frustrated about losing Emma than she was, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do so. As much as she wanted to believe she and Rufus could track Emma just like Wyatt could, she had to be honest with herself. When it came to tracking, she and Rufus were merely nothing more than moral support for Wyatt.

And so, instead of having Emma in their sights, she and Rufus were quietly sitting across the table from one another, eating ice cream cones, as the fine people of Brooklyn shuffled past, on their way home from work. Lucy watched the women walk by the window, and couldn’t help but notice how many blondes were walking by. Or, if they did have dark hair, it had been noticeably cut recently. As she thought back about all she knew about David Berkowitz, she remembered reading that women in the area were terrified of being profiled by him, and so did everything they could to change their hair to something he didn’t fixate on. As a result, there were a lot more blondes, and a lot more women with short hair. Reflexively, Lucy unclipped her hair so that she could retwist it back up, and that fewer curls were escaping. Once it was off her neck, she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck rise, and she involuntarily shivered. Something was off.

“The ice cream seems to be doing the trick.”

Lucy looked up at Rufus and realized her shiver must have been much larger than she thought. “Yeah, I guess so.” She returned her attention back to her cone, and quickly munched through it, licking her fingers clean of the ice cream that had melted onto them. Once done, she returned her gaze out the window, and swore she saw David Berkowitz standing across the street, but when she blinked and squinted in the vain effort to see further than usual, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. As such, she blew out a long sigh, propping her chin on hand, her elbow perched on the table. “How is Wyatt ever going to find us? I don’t even know where we are.”

“We’ll just go back to the hotel like he said, and wait for him there.”

_Oh yeah._ She was so caught up in chasing Emma, she totally had forgotten the one set of instructions Wyatt had given them. Her eyes flicked up and down the street outside again, before focusing on the sky, which was turning an ominous shade of black, and Lucy could only hope that the heavens opened up and it would rain. Maybe then some of the humidity would relieve itself, and the rain itself would cool things down. She continued watching out the window as Rufus finished his own cone, and was shaken from her thoughts when he spoke.

“When are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

It was both a blessing and a curse that her two teammates could read her like a book. It was great in situations where she needed them to understand her without her saying anything. There were other times, like now, when it was awful, because sometimes she just needed to carry the burden on her own. However, she knew that since Rufus suspected something, he wasn’t going to let it go until she gave him the truth. As such, she sighed once more, and turned to look at him, leaning back in her chair as she did. “I know why Emma brought us here.”

“What? How? Why?”

“Remember that group of people that Emma was talking to when we first saw her?”

Rufus nodded.

“Well, one of those men standing with her wasn’t one of her henchmen. It was David Berkowitz.”

“What?” Rufus slammed his hands down on the table, causing the silverware that were on there to jump, and the people in the small facility all turned to look at them.

Lucy offered them a weak smile and wave, and then turned her attention back to Rufus, putting a hand to her face to shield her words from the others in the room once they had gone back to their own conversations. “Ok, promise me you won’t make a scene.”

“Lucy, you know I can’t promise that. I’m sitting somewhere in Brooklyn in the middle of a heat wave, during the Summer of Sam. I’m freaking out, and you’re telling me that we literally were just steps away from one of the most well-known serial killers in American history.”

“It’s worse than that.” Lucy lunged across the table to grasp Rufus’ forearms to hold him down as he was about to slam the table again. “Stop. You promised.”

Rufus quickly shook his head. “I did not. I did no such thing, and you know if Wyatt was here, he would be pissed. I’m not pissed, but I’m worried, so I’m reacting. This already sounds bad, Lucy. I don’t think I even want to know anymore. I’m already sweating again.”

“Just…” Lucy sighed again, and returned to her chair, glancing around to make sure people were ignoring them. She could see a few of them regarding her and Rufus out of the corners of their eyes, but soon enough, they returned back to their lives. Outside, the sky was growing darker, and Lucy swore she heard some small rumbles of thunder. “So, David Berkowitz had a type of woman whom he targeted. That type typically was a younger woman with long, dark, wavy hair.” She licked her lips to return some of the moisture that suddenly was sucked out of her, as she tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “Women who look an awful lot like me.”

In Rufus’ eyes, she could see instant fear, and there was no way she could deny she was feeling the exact same thing. “He typically would target the woman, but ultimately kill both the woman and her significant other.” Once again, she licked her lips, and started biting the inside of her cheek. “I think that Emma brought us here to lead us into a trap. To lead me into a trap. She wants David Berkowitz to target me, and take out Wyatt at the same time.”

She watched as Rufus quickly turned his attention to the darkening street outside, his eyes scanning the street before them. Lucy looked too, and for the second time since they’d been inside the ice cream parlor, she swore she saw David Berkowitz standing across the street watching them, but once again, when she blinked, he was gone.

“I’m just going to step over that significant other reference you dropped about Wyatt, and go straight for what I believe is the more pressing issue at the moment. Do you think he’s out there watching us right now?”

Lucy could feel the hair on the back of her neck rise again, and she wanted to say no, but she honestly couldn’t be sure. So instead, she let her silence answer Rufus’ question.

“We need to get back to the hotel now. Being away from Wyatt is not a good idea. Besides, we’ve totally lost Emma at this point. I say we cut our losses with her. We now know her very creepy, very messed up plan, which has caused me to want to avoid any movie, book, TV show, etc. of the Summer of Sam for the rest of my life, and I think we just need to get the hell out of here.”

Lucy couldn’t agree more, and was about to push away from the small Formica table they were sitting at when a loud clap of thunder had her startling back into her chair.

“Wow. That sounded close.”

Nodding at Rufus’ comment, Lucy stood up again and headed towards the door. As she stepped out, she was fully expecting to feel some cool relief, but instead, was hit with an even thicker wall of humidity, if that was even possible. “Ugh.” She moved aside to give Rufus room to exit, and then looked up and down the streets. She completely felt like they were being watched, and it was making her skin crawl. “Do you even know which way the hotel is from here?”

Rufus frowned. “Not even in the slightest.”

Lucy could only snort. Sometimes, the two of them were the worst on missions. It really was a testament to how good a solider Wyatt was to keep them heading in the right direction. But, seemingly, the two of them could bumble their way through the worst of things, so she figured tonight would be no different. After looking back up and down the street again, she decided on one direction and pointed with her hand. “Let’s go this way.” She figured at some point they would hit a major street which would have a taxi cab on it they could catch, and they could leave their faith in the driver to take them back to their hotel.

As they walked, the feeling of being watched was getting stronger and stronger. So much so, that after several blocks, and no taxi in sight, when Lucy saw a pizza place, she motioned Rufus inside. It was hot in there, but the view out the window made her feel better. From there, they could watch the street and make sure they were in the clear, and there was no way David Berkowitz would do anything to her while she was sitting in a public place. No, he would wait until she was alone, or she was in a dark, secluded place. He wasn’t one for bold killings. He stalked until he found the perfect moment, and now was not it. At least, that’s what she had read about him. Maybe things had changed now that Emma had entered the picture.

A flash of lightning struck, lighting up the entire street, and a clap of thunder struck at almost the exact same time, making Lucy nearly jump out of her skin. As a slice of pizza slid in front of her, Rufus commented, “Jeez. The thunderstorms here are intense.”

Blowing out a shaky breath to calm herself, Lucy nodded. “That was really close. I wonder if anything got hit.”

“Guess we’ll find out sooner or later.”

As the smell of the bubbly cheese hit her nose, Lucy realized how hungry she actually was, and she didn’t answer Rufus. The ice cream was great, but it wasn’t filling. This would be filling. She looked up at Rufus in gratitude as he slid onto the bar stool next to her.

“You ever feel like you’re being watched?”

Lucy folded the slice of pizza in half, and tipped it down, allowing some of the grease to run down onto the paper plate, where it pooled into a reddish puddle, and watched it with the kind of rapt attention that could only come from utter exhaustion. “Yeah.” The feeling of being watched had gotten stronger and stronger – hence her pulling Rufus into the pizza place in the first place – but even now, it was almost suffocating. However, her hunger overrode her fear for the moment, and she plowed through the slice of pizza, successfully burning the roof of her mouth, and the tip of her tongue for good measure.

As she finished up, she wiped the excess grease off her fingers, crumpling the napkins and dropping them on the paper plate. She looked out across the street, watching the darkened sky illuminate with flashes of lightening, and jumping each time the thunder boomed. “What time is it?” With her stomach full, Lucy suddenly realized that it had been hours since they had been separated from Wyatt. While she was eager to get back to him, at least she had Rufus to keep her company. Wyatt however, was out there somewhere on his own, and if he was back at the hotel, who knew how long he had been there. He might have gone there shortly after they had separated, meaning he could have been climbing the walls waiting for their return for all those hours. She knew she would have been if their roles had been reversed.

“Close to 9:30.”

Her suspicions had been correct. They had been separated for hours, and it was time to get back to Wyatt. She needed to know he was ok. “We should go. Wyatt’s probably worried.” But before she could stand up, something had her looking across the street once again, and her blood froze in her veins. For the first time in days, her internal temperature plummeted as fear overtook her. She blindly reached out for Rufus, and grasped his arm, frantically pointing with her other. Across the street stood David Berkowitz, and this time it wasn’t an illusion. This time he was actually there, and he was staring right at her.

“Is that…”

Lucy didn’t even let Rufus finish. They needed to leave. Now.

As scenario after scenario rushed through her head of how they could get away from the Son of Sam, a lightning bolt hit that lit up the entire area. A thunder boom struck at almost the exact same time, causing her to jump.

And that’s when all the lights went out.

Lucy’s attention was pulled from the street to the interior of the restaurant, taking stock of the fact that all the electricity was blown, and employees were already moving to round up customers to get them to start moving out of the place. She looked back outside and was stunned by how dark it was. ALL of the lights were out. There wasn’t a single streetlight glowing on the street, and the apartment building across from them was fully plunged in darkness. She kept expecting the lights to turn back on, but as the seconds ticked by, and the lights stayed off, her heart sped up to a pace that had her feeling lightheaded, and regretting eating that pizza.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. That lightning bolt must have hit something.” Lucy scanned the darkened street, but it was impossible to see anything further than a couple of feet past the middle of the street. There was no way of knowing if David Berkowitz was still standing there, or if he had run away.

“We need to go. Now. There’s a crazy person out there, and it’s dark. We can’t stay here. We need to get back to the hotel.”

While Lucy agreed with everything Rufus was saying, something in her was screaming at her to stay put. But Rufus was grabbing her arm, and pulling her out the door before she could say anything.

As they got to the street, there were more and more people coming out of buildings in the hope to see what was going on. Lights were out everywhere, and it didn’t seem as if they were going to come back on any time soon. They started walking in the same direction that a lot of people seemed to be going, and Lucy could feel the pit in her stomach growing. Not only did she keep looking over her shoulder to see if David Berkowitz was following them, but she soon realized that there was no way they would be able to get a taxi cab anytime soon. Any that might actually still be willing to take passengers, would already be packed.

When the sound of a breaking window came from behind them, Lucy felt Rufus grab her hand, and he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “We need to get out of here.”

Lucy turned to look at the disturbance and could see that looters were rushing the store they had most recently passed, and she could see more people throwing things at windows ahead of them. They picked up their pace, dodging around people carrying televisions and stereos. One young man seemed to be carrying a very expensive piece of equipment that Lucy could only think would be used by a DJ or someone of that sort. Her heart was slamming in her chest, and every once in a while, she swore she saw David Berkowitz running about a half block behind them, and even at one point, directly beside them on the opposite side of the street.

Screams were coming from everywhere, and the sounds of babies crying echoed throughout the streets, mingling with the sounds of breaking glass, and honking horns. As they ran, Lucy knew without a doubt she would be waking up in a cold sweat for weeks because of nightmares from this event. If they could make it out.

Finally, they made it to what seemed like a major street, and one that felt like it was one she had seen before. Her heart skipped a bit when after seeing the street name, she knew it was the same as the one their hotel was on. However, as she looked across it, she could see flames shooting high in the air from the borough there, and there were several plumes of smoke rising against the darkened sky. It made it seem as though almost everything beyond the buildings directly across from her was on fire.

She stumbled when Rufus tugged on her arm, and banged her knee hard on the curb, but barely felt the pain as Rufus quickly hauled her up so that they could keep moving. For blocks they alternated between jogging and walking quickly, and Lucy swore that once they got back, she was going to start working out to build up her stamina. Her lungs were screaming, but her adrenaline was mercifully keeping her going. And when the sight of their hotel entered her vision, she cried out in relief. They were so close to somewhere safe. They were so close to Wyatt.

However, it was across the street, and there were no streetlights to regulate traffic, and no one driving was paying any attention whatsoever. She could see a break in traffic was imminent, and she was getting ready to just run when the last car she was waiting to pass by, started driving right towards them, flashing its lights, and honking its horn. In that moment, all she could think was that this was it. David Berkowitz had a car and no longer gave a shit about how he usually killed people. He had been hired by Emma to kill no matter what, and he was going to take advantage of the chaos, and just mow her down, and take down Rufus instead of Wyatt.

Lucy started backing away from the curb, tears falling down her cheeks, and when the car roared up to the curb, she closed her eyes and waited for the impact.

“Lucy! Rufus! Get in! Get in!”

Lucy pried one eye open, and briefly wondered if she was already dead, and that’s why she was hearing Wyatt’s voice. But as she focused, she realized that the car racing towards them had parked just on top of the curb, and inside was Wyatt, who was leaning across the front seat, yelling at them through the open window to get in the damn car.

Thankfully Rufus had a better grip on reality, and was opening the back door of the car so he could shove her in, before he jumped in the front seat next to Wyatt.

As Wyatt slammed the car in gear, Lucy looked down at her hands that were shaking, and she curled them into fists to try to get them to stop. Everything was going to be ok. Wyatt was here. He was alive. And when she looked up into the rearview mirror, she could see him looking back at her with so much emotion in his eyes, that it brought more tears to her own. She was emotionally, and physically exhausted, and all she wanted to do was to get back to the bunker, and crawl into her bunk with Wyatt, and not move for days. Or maybe ever. At this point, she was done with time travelling. She was done with Rittenhouse. She was just done.

“Dude. Where’d you get the car?”

Wyatt winked at Lucy in the rearview mirror and then turned his attention to Rufus. “There was a Pontiac dealership getting looted in the Bronx, and I figured they wouldn’t miss one more.”

Rufus frowned, but nodded. “The Bronx? What happened?”

“I chased Emma’s guys for miles, and finally tracked them to a power substation. When I went in, they had taken out the employee, and were messing with some of the equipment when I caught up to them. I was fighting one off when I swear to god, it was like a bomb going off. I think lightning hit it, and in the chaos, the other guy got away. Since I lost him, I started making my way back to the hotel, and then all hell broke loose when the lights went out.”

In the backseat, Lucy was internally scrolling through her rolodex of historical blackouts, but couldn’t remember one hitting New York City during this time, and came up empty. Which meant, that Emma must have had other plans during this trip than just taking out Lucy, and Lucy was already worried to see how history had shifted because of this event.

“What about you guys?”

Lucy could see Rufus look at her out of the corner of her eye, and she silently plead with him to leave out Emma’s plan. “We lost Emma in Crown Heights.”

“Any idea what she was doing on this trip?”

Rufus darted another glance back at Lucy, and this one didn’t escape Wyatt’s scrutiny.

“Damn it, Rufus. What was Emma doing here?”

“Um, so, you know how we thought that she might want something to do with the Son of Sam? So, turns out that we were right. She wanted him to kill Lucy. And you.”

Lucy swore that it was only Wyatt’s training that had him continuing to drive straight, and not veering after hearing that little nugget of information. She could see however, his fingers tensing on the wheel, and she was pretty sure she could actually hear him swallow. The muscles in his jaw went rigid, but he kept looking straight ahead.

“We need to get to the Lifeboat and get out of here.”

“Dude. You have no idea.”

Lucy relaxed slightly in the backseat, and slouched down a bit, content to let Wyatt take them back to the Lifeboat. And being slouched down was what ultimately probably saved her.

As they slowed down to turn a corner, another car came out of nowhere, and slammed into the front corner of the driver’s side of the car. The momentum sent Lucy slamming forward against the bench seat in front of her, and their car twisted in the street. Ultimately, it wasn’t that bad of an accident, but it was enough of one that had Wyatt screaming at both Lucy and Rufus to make sure they were ok. Lucy was ready to say she was, when a sound of a gunshot rocked the air, and she dove to the floor of the car for cover.

“Get out! Get out!”

Lucy scrambled to open the door next to her, and tumbled out of the car onto the pavement. Very quickly, Rufus’ arms were around her, hauling her up so they could run. The shots were aimed towards them, and as Wyatt climbed through the car to follow them, he turned once to fire back, but pushed his teammates ahead of him into the suddenly fleeing crowd. Lucy bounced off a teenager as she ran, and yelped when a bullet tore through the young man. She instinctively dropped to help him, but was quickly picked up by Wyatt, and pushed along. “It’s Son of Sam. Just run.”

Fortunately, the crowd provided cover for the trio, and soon the gunshots ceased. They kept running however, down Smith Street, and finally made it, after what seemed like hours, to where they left the Lifeboat.

Mercifully, Wyatt hoisted Lucy up into the machine, because she was so tired, she knew without a doubt, she would have slipped and probably chipped a tooth or something. Her arm was already a little sore from hitting the seat in front of her, and her knee was definitely starting to throb.

As they sat down in their respective seats, and Rufus busied himself with prepping for the trip, Wyatt buckled Lucy in, and leaned in close, whispering dangerously close to her ear. “We need to talk when we get back.”

Lucy knew that Wyatt was talking about what had happened over the past few hours, but knew that they did indeed need to talk, and it was about something else. Both conversations were ones she wanted to avoid at all costs, but she knew that both would happen. And both were going to be terrible. But as the Lifeboat began to shake, signaling their liftoff, Lucy looked across to Wyatt and could see a small smirk creeping across his face. It was that smirk she would think of for those nights she woke up in a cold sweat after David Berkowitz haunted her dreams again. But at least for the moment, they were safe, and alive, and on their way home from yet another mission.

So when they landed back in the present, she blew out a breath of relief. The conversations that were inevitable were going to be terrible, but at least they were alive, and she now had survived two of America’s most notorious serial killers. She could only hope they never encountered another.

 

\------------------------------

**Epilogue**

The moment they landed, Lucy demanded answers about a blackout in New York City during the Summer of Sam. Not surprisingly, none of those left in the bunker knew what she was talking about, but she couldn’t blame them. Not everyone had a near photographic memory for anything historical like she did.

And so what if she dove right into researching, and avoided Wyatt for a bit. So what if she put off the conversation that much longer. There was nothing wrong with that, right?

As she read over the details of the Summer of Sam, she could see that they had indeed drastically changed history on this trip. The blackout they had experienced was unsurprisingly called the New York City blackout of 1977. Apparently a lightning strike had hit a power substation, and had set off a cataclysmic series of events that started with of all things, a loose locking nut. Apparently Emma’s henchman had done more damage than any one of them could have predicted.

Lightning strikes had continued to hit various substations, which, was just weather being unpredictable, but all of that led up to the entire city, minus a few small areas, falling into darkness, and allowing massive looting and arson to occur. The worst of the looting happened in Crown Heights – right where they were – and the worst of the arsons were in Bushwick, which must have been the fires she could see as they ran. Additionally, apparently there was a Pontiac dealership in the Bronx that had been cleaned out, and Lucy could only snort and shake her head.

Lucy continued to scan the article she was reading, and felt her heart constrict when she saw mention of only one homicide during the entire event. A teenager in Brooklyn, who was shot on Smith Street. No suspects were ever identified. Sitting back in her chair, Lucy put a hand on her forehead, a war debating within her to mourn the teenager who had been shot because the bullet had been aimed at her, and she bounced into him at a specific moment in time, or to be grateful, because this teenager was apparently the notorious mobster Dominick Ciscone, who she knew to be one of the most ruthless killers of the 1980s. Because of her, a teenager was killed, but also because of her, possibly hundreds of people had lived.

Time traveling was a finicky beast.

One thing she did note, and that she would have to remember to tell Rufus later, was that a whole section of one of his favorite movies, _Men in Black,_ apparently referenced the blackout. She knew he would definitely want to see this new version of the movie.

Finally feeling satisfied with her research, Lucy headed towards the showers to clean off the layers of sweat and grime, and made sure to wash out the cut on her knee, which was already turning a lovely shade of black and blue. Once done, she toweled off, and climbed into a pair of sweats, and a baggy shirt. As she padded out of the bathroom, and down the hallway, she could see Wyatt standing there, waiting for her. She walked up to him and smiled, wanting to joke about him stealing yet another car. But as she opened her mouth to speak, Wyatt’s phone beeped, signaling a text message coming in. She could see the exact moment on his face when he realized it was Jessica texting him. And it wasn’t really a surprise when a few hours later the alarm rang signaling that the Mothership had jumped, and Wyatt was nowhere to be seen. He was out with Jessica, and Lucy knew that whatever she had with Wyatt was done, and it was time to start putting her shattered heart back together.

 

* * *

 

A/N – So that’s it! Sorry to end it on such a downer, but I wanted to try to fit it back into canon – as much as that canon sucks.

Anyways, so the historical event I had mentioned at the beginning of this that they changed was of course the New York City blackout of 1977. All of that actually did happen, and it’s a really interesting read if you want to dive into it.

Thanks all so much for reading!

 

 

 

 


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